TOLEDO, Ohio - Humbling back-to-back loses after a 12-1 start to the season only highlights the fact, for Willie Jackson and Marreon Jackson, playing for the Toledo Rockets was all about the right fit.

The unrelated Jackson’s both played at Cleveland Garfield High and were coveted players coming out of high school. Willie Jackson, a 6-7 forward, initially signed to play at Missouri, before family issues led him back to Ohio. Marreon Jackson, a 6-1 guard, was highly recruited as well. But he committed as a junior to play for the Rockets.

“(John) Beilein at Michigan really recruited Marreon hard,’’ Garfield High coach Sonny Johnson said. “But he committed early to Toledo. I think for guards, that’s smart because there are a lot of guards out there. When you see somebody really wants you, and you like them, then fine. And Toledo identified Marreon very early and showed they wanted him.”

Both are starters for UT who bring top-shelf athleticism and unique size to a team otherwise loaded primarily with shooters. They are the perfect fit for the Rockets, who were 12-3 heading into Saturday’s game against Western Michigan.

“People ask me all the time, what is my biggest surprise (on the team), it’s Willie Jackson,’’ Toledo head coach Tod Kowalczyk said recently. “A much better player than I thought, a better teammate than I ever thought, and I have never coached somebody as involved and committed to the community as he is. I love him to death. He’s tough, he’s unselfish. Also, he is not just good, he is an elite rebounder.”

“And Mar, he’s our leader on the floor. He makes big plays when it matters. Even when he struggles offensively in some games, and this is extremely rare in college basketball, it never affects his energy, his defense or his commitment. There are not many sophomore point guards like that in the country.

“His ball pressure, his defense, when he’s not in the game, his defensive presence is obvious.’’

Both players say their Toledo decision has been the right one for them.

“I’m very pleased,’’ Marreon Jackson said. “A lot of players go to a school just for the name and that can mess up their whole career. They don’t get the playing time they want. Or they get recruited over. But I went to where I was wanted, could play right away and have an impact.’’

As Kowalczyk points out, Marreon Jackson’s impact on the court has been huge. This season, on a team that has five players averaging in double figures, he is averaging 9.5 points and 4.3 assists per game through Friday. What he delivers, is quality. In the Rockets' home loss to Ball State on Jan. 4, he kept UT in the game with a pair of big 3-pointers early on.

In a loss league favorite Buffalo on Jan. 8, he had 20 points, six rebounds and three assists in 34 minutes.

“At a young age, everybody wants to be that guy who commits to the big school,’’ Marreon Jackson said. “And I had those looks and the big offers. But I had talks with my parents, coaches, past players and they all told me to go where I can fit in the most and shine the most.’’

For Willie Jackson, his route to UT was not as direct. While he was coveted by all the area Division I schools, when Missouri from the SEC called, he made the decision to go.

“I was big on taking that adventure,’’ Jackson said. “I wanted to see what it was like to be that far away from home. But when somebody close to you gets sick, you have no choice but to come home. It was tough, because I had made some key relationships already at Missouri. It was a long decision, I made sure this is what I wanted to do.’’

He was an immediate contributor at Missouri playing 19 minutes a game producing 5.9 points and 4.9 rebounds as a freman in 2016-17. Yet back, home his grandmother was sick, and being 650 miles away was too much to deal with. At mid-year, he decided to return back to the area.

“When you get on the phone with your grandmother, it’s like, I’m coming home,’’ Willie Jackson said. “It was never about basketball, even though we weren’t winning (at Missouri), I enjoyed Missouri.”

And while most expected him to land at Akron, he decided on the Rockets 100-miles away instead.

“He an Marreon played AAU ball together growing up as well as in high school,’’ Johnson said. “I think playing with a point guard he knew real well was the key.”

Missouri, at that time, was a struggling program. But Willie Jackson said the decision to get back to Ohio, despite what some might believe, was strictly family.

“I’m a big family guy,’’ Willie Jackson said. “Coming back was a life-changing decision, one of the best life decisions I ever made.’’

Despite an 0-2 start in Mid-American Conference play, there is plenty of time for UT to get back in step and win a division title. And with a return game at home with nationally-ranked Buffalo, Feb. 16, plus a potential third game with the Bulls in the MAC Tournament, even post season goals are still in play.

Jackson and Jackson just have to lock in with the rest of the Rockets and go on another roll.

“Playing with him for basically half of my life, we just click, and our team follows,’’ Marreon Jackson said.